East Meets East Meets Route 66
At 10:05AM I called Steve to let him know that I was running late and where I was on the road, told
him where I was arrived shortly after 11:00AM, 11:01 to be exact
according my phone record referenced.
I was an hour later than I
planned but my eight year old
GPS without updates got me exactly to where I was going.
When I got to
Steve’s house I had to recheck the address because the
GPS was too
accurate for me. I called Steve when I arrived.
My
cell phone as usual
acted up as Steve failed to hear my voice causing minor confusion.
Steve came out looking just like his picture but a tad older version.
My mind went wild into its analytical mode wondering before entering the
house what was this guy about having very little by way of family on
his Facebook page except for the great selection of Route 66 pictures.
I
knew very little about Steve but the inside of his
home was very clean and tidy.
I was, my usual self, talking my head
off . I don’t even remember what I was talking about but I did have to
pee. When I came out of the bathroom there was a news paper article on the wall facing where I was standing or
magazine article about a local woman who worked on the an Ellis Island committee which Steve told me was his mother then
went on to tell me of his heritage. He knew of actual people who came
through the country that way but not from his family.
Steve asked me if I
would like to have lunch first. He made a nice healthy fruit salad. I
told him that I would prefer to see the collection first. Thinking to myself,
"seeing the collection will help me digest the poisoned breakfast I just had at
Mickey D’s then eat the healthier salad after seeing the collection."
Steve mentioned that his dog just got put down the day before.
Steve did look distraught over his recent loss. I still think of my
Stumpy who suffered longer than he had to because we couldn’t bear to put him
down. My oldest daughter made the call for us. That phone call worked far better
than my email to the vet I never wanted to get. But a chance to show off this Mother Road Collection sure seemed cheer Steve up.
Considering how challenging walking is to me anyway while navigating to the garage that was in back of the house, thinking now how some
flagstones might have made it a tad easier for me to maneuver toward the
garage. Steve went ahead to turn the lights on while I trudged through
the grass,
shorter than mine at
home due to my lawnmower being turned into a tiller by my daughter's boyfriend who helps us out once in a while.
When I was within
ten feet of the door what I could see as I approached was Route 66
paraphernalia. I took my first shot five feet from the door. I was
amazed to see a ’62’ Thunderbird sitting there in mint condition, a soft
top convertible that folds into the trunk.
This was way more than I
bargained for. It was almost as great as being on Route 66 itself at a
fraction of the cost in time traveled and gas. There was so much to
shoot I was lost.
Steve had everything sectioned off nicely.
Everything was in clusters and hopefully I’m using the right words.
This is a museum with history; everything right there in Steve’s
head.
He knew every piece intimately.
Like This Bob Waldmire original.
Looking around I
could tell this man had a passion far beyond mine. As one can see from
these pictures I’ve posted it is worth telling this story that I’ll have
no problem blogging about. I took well over fifty shots before
realizing this was overwhelming me. I thought it might be worth having a
video, shot by the man himself and I love putting people on the spot, so
I asked. Steve not only shot video for me he was relentlessly generous
and knew exactly what to shoot. This was one of many. The man knew how to pan.
As one can see from within this
collection there are many great shots that Steve took him self. Some of
what he had pictures of and how they were taken seemed to outweigh the
value of actual signage and or objects from the Mother Road itself.
If
this museum in Albany NY was food from the Mother Road and I was eating
it; I was full for now and knew I would want to come back and eventually eat the
rest in smaller amounts as I paced myself and of course ask prepared
questions.